into his eyes, all the while asking him basic questions. And all of which he answered in a strange,

aloof manner.

Ginger stood over them, frowning. “Jamie, tell her what you took.”

“When?” Fizz smiled.

“Today, or whenever you’ve taken what it is you’ve taken. Just tell her.”

Fizz glanced over at the pill packets, the same ones Ginger had been looking at. He turned back to

Sheila with a smirk. “Nothing worth sharing, I’m afraid.”

Ryan was confused. Why the sudden change in Fizz’s manner? It didn’t make sense.

“Okay,” Sheila said. “Your heart rate is a little fast. You feel all right, though? Any different?”

“Oh, very different.” Fizz took hold of Sheila’s hand and squeezed it. He looked directly into her

eyes. “Thank you for your help. You may leave now.”

Sheila visibly stiffened. She jerked back, and nodded her head. “Okay. I-I’m going.”

“What?” Ginger said in surprise. “Sheila, so what should I do? Do I take him to –”

“Dan.” Sheila stood quickly, grabbing Ginger’s arm. “I need to talk to you.”

“Why?” Ginger’s voice rose. “What’s wrong with him? Tell me!”

“Not here,” she hissed, pulling him away. “Come on.”

Ryan saw they were coming out of the room, so he stood aside. Sheila stopped, gesturing for Ryan

and Ash to precede them. “You guys, too. Everyone out, now.”

“What the fuck’s going on?” Ginger demanded. He let Sheila usher them out into the hall before

turning on her. “Sheila, tell me what’s happening!”

“Dan, shush.” Sheila ducked past him, aiming for their kitchen. Near the stairs, she seemed to pause

momentarily, looking at the thin air as if in surprise, then she hurried into the kitchen.

“Sheila!” Ginger stormed after her, and Ryan shared a glance with Ash.

“Tell me what’s wrong!” Ginger’s voice sounded from the kitchen. “For God’s sake, please?”

Ash followed them, and Ryan didn’t want to be left alone. They crowded into the open door of the

kitchen, watching as Sheila poured herself a glass of water from the tap. Ginger stood in the centre of

the room, his fists balled at his sides. “Do I ring an ambulance, or what?”

Sheila gulped the water, then shook her head. “No, his body’s fine.”

Ginger threw his arms up. “His body’s fine. Great! What the fuck does that mean?”

Sheila turned on the counter, looking at him warily. “Dan, something’s happened here. I’m not sure

what it is, but Beth will know. I’ll have to go get her.”

“You what?” Ginger shouted in disbelief. “What for? Beth’s a stoner! I need a bloody doctor or

something, right?”

“No,” Sheila said firmly. “A doctor won’t be able to do anything. There’s something inside him.”

“Inside...?” Ginger went quiet. He stared at Sheila in confusion.

Ash squeezed past Ryan and stepped forward. “Are you saying...this is some kind of mental thing?”

Sheila glanced at him, then cocked her head. “You could put it that way, I suppose.”

“Is it because of the pills?” Ash asked.

“I don’t know,” Sheila said. “But he’s young, he’s vulnerable, and something’s taken hold of him in

that room.”

“Arrgh!” Ginger scrubbed a hand over his face. “And what the bloody hell does that mean? You’re

saying he’s had a funny turn, or what?”

Sheila pulled open the small handbag which hung across her body. It was red, the same shade as her

hair, and lipstick. “Look, Dan, the longer we debate this, the worse it gets. I’ll call Beth.” She pulled

out a mobile phone.

“Hah.” Ginger went to the cupboard above the kettle, yanking open a door. “Like that’ll do any

bloody good,” he muttered into the cupboard.

Ryan watched Ginger pull down a bottle of whiskey, while Sheila dialled her phone. God, what a

mess, he thought. Ash hovered next to him, both of them unsure what to do.

Sheila pressed the phone against her ear. “Beth? Beth, hi, it’s Sheila! No, babe, no, I’m not at the

beach yet. Are you down there?”

Ginger muttered to himself. Opening the whiskey, he took a very long swig.

“Beth, can you come to the Queen Anne?” Sheila asked, then shouted, “The Queen Anne!”

They all winced as Sheila raised her voice.

“Beth! Beth, can you hear me?” Sheila glanced at her phone. “Shit, my phone’s not working.”

Ginger put the lid back on the whiskey. “So, that’s the end of that brilliant plan! Look, if I can’t get

that kid to casualty, I’ll call a bloody ambulance.”

“Dan, I’m telling you it won’t do any good,” Sheila said. “You can see for yourself that he’s all

right; he’s sitting up, he’s coherent. He’s just not himself.”

Ginger paused. “Well, yeah, but...okay, so if not casualty, what then? A psychiatrist?”

“Something like that,” Sheila sighed. “We’ll explain more when we get back, okay? I’m going to go

look for Beth.”

“What? Where is she?”

“I arranged to meet her on the beach. I’ll go down there, find her, and bring her back here.”

“The beach?” Ginger scoffed. “Where exactly on the beach? There’s bloody miles of it!”

“We always meet by the pier,” she said. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“And then what?”

Sheila averted her eyes, masking the action by putting her phone away in her bag. “Then she’ll talk

to your cousin, and find out what’s wrong.”

“God.” Ginger grasped towards the whiskey bottle again. “Sheila, I don’t get this. Are you sure? I

mean, are you sure he shouldn’t be in a hospital right now? They have psychiatrists there, don’t they?”

Sheila shook her head. “I’m sorry, Dan. But he won’t get the skills he needs on a hospital ward,

especially an emergency one. Trust me. I know you’re not Beth’s biggest fan, but she knows about this

stuff. Do you want to come help me look? The more people looking, the quicker we’ll be.”

“I’m not running around on the bloody beach on Solstice, when it’s full of hippies,” Ginger said

tersely. “I’m staying here.”

Sheila looked to Ash and Ryan. “Guys?”

“If it helps Fizz, I’ll come,” Ash said.

“I- I’ll stay,” Ryan said.

Sheila nodded. “Okay. Great. We need to go right now. Dan?” She stepped up to him, placing her

hands on his shoulders. “I know you’re worried, but it’s really important you stay right here, and don’t

go back in that room.”

“What? Why not?”

Sheila’s eyes slid over to Ryan and, strangely, Ryan felt the scratches on his face throb.

“It’s important, Dan,” she said. “Think of it this way. Right now, Fizz believes in something, and he

believes it very strongly. You might even say he’s someone else entirely, and that person...isn’t a very

nice person. And the more you go in there, and give him attention, the worse he’ll get.”

“But why?” Ginger demanded. “Why’s he doing this?”

“Trust me,” Sheila said. “I’ll explain when we get back. Stay in here. And Ryan,” she said, eyes

fixing on him. “Make sure you both stay here. Ash, let’s go.” She strode from the kitchen.

As he passed, Ash said quietly to Ryan. “If we’re not back in like, half an hour, why don’t you take

him to hospital anyway? We can always find you there.”

Ryan nodded. “Okay. Good luck.”

Ash left with Sheila. It had all happened so quickly, Ryan wasn’t sure what to make of it. And yet,

Sheila’s words about Fizz thinking he was somebody different rang true. That had to be it, right? Fizz

was having some kind of mental breakdown, brought on by whatever mental illness he suffered from,

and from staying in that creepy room.

But as much as he wanted to believe that, Ryan worried there was something else going on here. He

stood on the spot, biting his fingernail. Shit. In the rush, they’d forgotten to tell Sheila about Fizz’s

eyes changing colour, and the strange scratches on Ryan’s cheeks.